City asks county for money to help parks and recreation
McMinnville’s Parks and Recreation Committee is looking to the county for monetary support in hopes of eliminating the dual fee structure, which charges non-city residents more for using city recreation facilities.
Members voted last week to ask county commissioners to help offset costs the city incurs when providing recreational or fitness services to non-city residents. The idea was if the county, as a government, contributed financially to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, the dual fee structure enacted last year could be eliminated, according to committee Chairman Bobby Kirby.
City Administrator Herb Llewellyn estimated costs of providing those services to non-city residents near $100,000, but city officials said last week they believed that amount would be hard to re-coup from the county.
Instead, city officials made a $60,000 request to the county’s Budget and Finance Committee and Safety Committee Tuesday.
City officials voted last week to ask the county for $60,000 for one year, eliminate the dual fee structure and form a joint city and county parks and recreation advisory board if those funds were received.
County officials made no decisions Tuesday and commissioners said they would take the matter under advisement.
Kirby said after Tuesday’s meeting he was encouraged by their reaction, even though one commissioner wondered where the county would come up with $60,000, while another thought the investment in county children would be worthwhile.
Kirby said after the meeting he views the dual fee structure as divisive.
“It’s caused a lot of problems with a lot of the youth sporting events – swim teams, soccer teams, softball teams. To me, by having that dual fee structure, it seems like we’re placing more of a wedge between city and county,” Kirby said. “It’s just more separation and I don’t think city and county need to be playing against each other. They need to be working together.”
The request comes after a shift in city policy that originated in January, 2002, when members of a former Parks and Recreation Committee voted to double daily-use fees for non-city residents.
The policy set daily use fees at the Civic Center at $2 for non-city residents and $1 for city residents. Other Parks and Recreation fees were set later.
Aldermen said in 2002 that implementing a dual fee structure was a way to more fairly charge fees to city residents and non-city residents, since county residents do not pay city property taxes and those taxes in part fund the Parks and Recreation Department.
Civic Center fee structure
Pool passes
• $200 city family, $75 city individual
• $275 non-city resident family, $100 non-city resident individual
Daily pool fees
• $4 city adult
• $5 non-city adult
• $3 city resident (ages 5-and-under and seniors)
• $4 non-city resident (ages 5-and-under and seniors)
Civic Center weight room
• $1 city resident daily, $15 monthly
• $ 2 non-city resident daily, $20 monthly
Civic Center racquetball, tennis, ping pong, basketball, volleyball, walking
• $1 city resident daily
• $2 non-city resident daily
Youth soccer
• $45 – city collects $5 user fee for residents and $8 for non-city residents
Youth baseball
• $30 – city collects $5 user fee for residents and $8 for non-city residents
Kids Camp
• $65/week city resident
• $70/week non-resident